Trump Gives Transgenders in the Military The Boot

Trump Gives Transgenders in the Military The Boot

After extensively discussing Obama’s transgender policies with his national security advisers, President Trump took to twitter to declare he’s axing every transgender in the military. In a chain of tweets, Trump bombasted transgenders for undermining the military’s might. The Pentagon, having lifted the ban on transgender service members in July 2016, was caught off guard and taken aback by the weird news on twitter. It announced afterward that it will defer transgender applicant enrollment till further notice. Another reason why Trump’s announcement comes as a weird news, is that the Pentagon has been conducting a study on the implications on the military’s medical responsibilities and readiness of allowing transgenders to serve. The report was to be reviewed by the senate and the military leadership before any decision was to be taken on the issue. Trump jumped the gun on all and left them dry and hanging. It’s a tough decision for the president to make, but one that’s best for the military, states press secretary Sarah Sanders, in the president’s defense.

The backlash has been quickly unleashed from many quarters. Republican Sen. McCain, chairman of the senate armed service committee, finds it hard to wrap his head around why such a major policy announcements would be made through a series of tweets. He has gone on to rail that any American who’s able to train, fight and display readiness, should be allowed pride of place in the military.
How Trump’s latest ban will be implemented is yet unclear, but his about-face on his pledge to protect the freedom of the LGBT community is glaring.